SPRINGFIELD — Dennis Leger was only about 20 to 30 yards away from a massive explosion Friday that leveled a strip club, damaged at least 45 buildings in the downtown and injured nearly two dozen people.

Numerous other firefighters and employees of the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission and Columbia Gas of Massachusetts were even closer, Leger said.

“They were right across the street,” he said Wednesday.

Leger, aide to acting Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant, said he was responding to what he believed was a routine call regarding a natural gas leak when the building housing the Scores Gentlemen’s Club at 453 Worthington St. went up in a fiery blast that was heard and felt from miles away.

Leger was talking on his cell phone with The Republican reporter Patrick Johnson, passing along information regarding buildings that were evacuated due to the leak, when the strip club exploded. At that very moment he had been walking away from the club toward Chestnut Street.

Dennis LegerThe Republican staff file photo

“I turned to look at it and all this stuff started hitting me and going past me – bricks and boards – and I started running and they were moving faster than I was, they were passing me,” Leger said.

At some point, Leger said, he realized that he was out of the immediate danger zone and he stopped and peered back into what was now a white-gray cloud of dust and concrete powder enveloping the area.

“I looked back and all I could see was the cloud, and it started to dissipate,” Leger said. “Everybody was on the ground.”

Leger, fearing the worst, hustled to his vehicle to don his gear and returned to the scene. By then, some of the injured firefighters were already on their feet, helping others.

“Even some of the firefighters that were injured were trying to help the other ones that were hurt even worse. ... We just went into the getting everyone out of there mode as quickly as possible,” he said.

Conant said 13 firefighters suffered injuries, including Leger, who has since sought treatment for ear problems – something suffered by nearly everybody who was in close proximity to the blast.

Of those 13 injured firefighters, 11 remain off-duty, including two firefighters who suffered second-degree burns or worse to their faces and foreheads, Conant said.

Another two firefighters suffered ankle injuries and a third, who fell into a manhole, suffered waist and knee injuries.

Most of those injured, Conant said, are also dealing with what he described as post-concussion symptoms.

Nearly all of the injured firefighters, plus some of the others who were involved in the response, attended what’s known as a critical incident stress management session Tuesday night at the Norris J. Quinn Fire Training Center in Indian Orchard.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery for some of them,” Conant said, adding that the session was a good first step.

The session was conducted by a Boston-based critical incident stress management team, along with the fire department chaplains, Conant said. Such sessions are designed, he said, to give those who experience traumatic events a chance to share their experiences.

“It was a really good session,” Conant said. “Everyone aired out what they are feeling.”

Conant, along with being relieved that there was no loss of life in the blast, said he was pleased with his department’s response. “I am very proud of them,” he said. “They did everything they needed to do to protect the public.”

Police Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the two police officers who were within 30 to 50 yards of the blast remain off-duty due to injuries. One suffered a concussion and the other is suffering from a “bumps and bruising, a potential concussion and stress,” he said.

The police department, Delaney said, is planning a similar stress management session for the injured officers and those who responded to the scene.

“They are lucky to be alive, that seems to be the common thread,” Delaney said.

Kathy Pedersen, spokeswoman for the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission, said the commission's injured employee – “who was actually right at the site during the blast,” – is recuperating at home.

Sheila Doiron, spokeswoman for Columbia Gas, said several of the four gas company’s injured employees continue to recuperate at home.

“Some are going to have a longer-term recovery than others,” she said.

The number of claims filed with Columbia Gas as of Wednesday evening was slightly below 300, said company spokeswoman Sheila Doiron.

The company has begun processing claims and discovered some overlap with claims filed at City Hall on Monday and Tuesday and with the company's 1-800 phone line, she said.

Columbia has stopped taking claims from residents and property owners at City Hall, but continues to take them over the telephone.

The number is (800) 451-4527.

Doiron said new claims will likely continue coming in over the next few days.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan on Sunday said investigators determined a Columbia Gas employee had punctured a gas line with a tool, causing gas to build up inside the strip club.